CPL’s York9 sells star midfielder to top-flight Dutch club

TORONTO — Nineteen months ago, Emilio Estevez Tsai was just hoping to impress at the Canadian Premier League’s open trials.

The attacking midfielder caught York9 FC head coach Jimmy Brennan’s eye and signed with the CPL team. One season later, Estevez Tsai is on his way to ADO Den Haag of the Dutch top-flight Eredivisie.

“I’m very excited. I’m still in shock, to be honest,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “I can’t wait to get started.” The 21-year-old follows in the footsteps of midfielder and Canadian Premier League MVP Tristan Borges, sold by Forge FC to Belgium’s Oud-Heverlee Leuven in January.

A source, because the transfer fee was not made public, said the sale was in the $100,000 range and could net York9 more with add-ons and a sell-on clause.

Estevez Tsai made 18 league appearances for York9 in the CPL’s inaugural 2019 season, scoring once. He was called up to the Chinese Taipei national team for its World Cup qualifiers, making his debut last October in a 7-1 loss to Australia. He also saw action against Jordan and Kuwait.

Born in Toronto to a Spanish father and Taiwanese mother, Estevez Tsai’s name has nothing to do with the actor Emilio Estevez. His father named him after Emilio Butragueno, a retired Real Madrid and Spain star forward whose nickname was The Vulture.

The five-foot-six Estevez Tsai is good on the ball and likes to run at defenders. Brennan called him “a little hidden gem.”

“We fell in love with him as soon as I saw him,” Brennan told the CPL website.

Growing up, Estevez Tsai loved to watch Andres Iniesta, the former Barcelona star midfielder who now plays for Japan’s Vissel Kobe.

“He’s a small player like me and he inspired me a lot, to be honest,” Estevez Tsai said of Iniesta, who turned 36 Monday.